Spirit-level



UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES AUGUSTIN BYRNE, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

SPIRIT-LEVEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 423,669, dated March 18, 1890.

Application filed December 21,1889- Serial No. 334.595. (N60 model.) I

To all whom it may concern.- I

Be it known that I, JAMES AUGUSTIN BYRNE, I

a citizen of the United States, residing at Denver, in the county of Arapahoe and State of,

Colorado, have invented new and useful Instruments of Precision, of which the following edge; and the invention consists in the specific details of construction hereinafter set forth, whereby an instrument is produced that is better adapted for the purposes for which it is intended to be used and possesses less of the disadvantages than devices of this character heretofore in use.

It has been customary in the construction of devices of this character to make them of plain wood about three-quarters of an inch thick and from four to six inches wide, these proportions varying in some instances, and the disadvantages accruing from this construction are numerous. For instance, in the use of a piece of wood in leveling or in setting stone or bricks with their faces in alignment the larger the body of the so-called straightedge the greater the shadow the device will cast, and although an inexperienced person may not consider this to be a very objectionable feature, still a practical mechanic in this line will at once see that it is. -Again, in the throwing, dropping, and knocking about'which devices of this character are subjected to a straightedge whose body is of wood becomes in time more or less nicked or jammed; but more especially does it become chipped by splinters or slivers of its body being broken or partially broken therefrom; and, 'finally, an objections exists" which is perhaps nearly or quite as serious as any other which could be urged against a body'of plain wood, and that is that from the extremely-ex posed conditions of climate and weather to which these straight=edges are subjected they are very liable to be warped in their length or breadth.

It is well known, of course, that drafting and measuring instruments have been provided with metallic edges; but I am not aware that such edges or faces have heretofore been edge.

applied to instruments of precision intended for use out of doors and in unprotected positions, as just above mentioned.

The present invention consists, further, however, in the peculiar contour and relative shapes of the abutting parts forming connected portions of this device.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of my improved straight- Fig. 2 is an enlarged central vertical cross-section of the same. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of another form of my improved straight-edge. Fig. 4 is an enlarged central vertical cross-section of the same.

Referring to the said drawings, wherein I have applied the same letters of reference to corresponding parts in all the views, D is a wooden body, provided along one or both of its edges with longitudinal slots d, and A are metallic faces each or guards adapted to be secured along these edges of the body. The said metallic faces consist of a plain strip of metal of approximate T shape in cross-section, and the shank of this metal strip-{which I have lettered B, is adapted to fit snugly into the groove cl in the wooden body. Transverse screws, pins, or rivets O are passed through the body and the shank of the metallic pieces at intervals throughout the length of the instrument and serve to hold the members of the straight-edge rigidly in relative position.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown an instrument which is practically two of the instruments shown in Figs. 3 and 4 when placed with their backs to each other; but in any case I prefer to have the sides of the wooden body beveled, so that they shall converge considerably toward the edge or edges which are adapted to receive the metalstrips. In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 this converging of the sides will be from the center outwardly toward each edge, while in the construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4 it will be from the top toward the lower edge. The advantages of this construction are, primarily, to bring the instrument to almost a sharp edge along the extreme edges of metal which are to be placed against the stones or brick to bring them into alignment; also to make the metallic portion of the device thinner, so that it shall give less additionalweight to the IOO instrument; also, as 'in'Fig. 2, to make the entire body of approximate diamond shape, so that if the device be accidentally dropped on its side the angle G in the wood at the center will strike first, thus preventing the nicking of the metallic edges; or, as in Fig. 4, to make the body of approximate triangular shape, so that the acute angles G at the upper end of the wooden portion may serve the same function; and, finally, as in Figs. 3 and 4, to provide a broader base of wood, which can be cut out for the insertion of the spiritlevel.

The said spirit-level F may be of any ordinary size and construction, and is preferably inserted in one wooden face of the diamondshaped straight-edge, when itis desired to use it in connection therewith, atapointalittleabove one of the sideangles, about as shown in Fig. 2, or it is inserted in the construction shown in Fig. 4 in the upper broad flat edgeof the wooden body about where shown. This latter construction of my improved straightedge is shown as provided with an opening E, by which it may be grasped by the hand of the operator, as is common. in devices of this character, and it will be obvious that this opening can be supplied to the other construction also, if desired.

A straight-edge as constructed in accordance with the above description Will possess the combined advantages of having metallic edges of comparative lightness, of little liability of warping, of casting little or no shadow, and of having projecting angles of wood which in a measure protect the metallic faces, and yet the device possesses all the possibilities and capabilities of other straigh tedges, ltaving spirit-levels when they are desired for use, having an opening which may be used as a handle, and even,if desired, having a measuring-scale .marked on one or both sides of the metallic faces, which latter I have not deemed it necessary to show.

Having described: my invention, what I claim is- V 1. 'A straight-edge having a body Whose sidesare beveled nearly to an edge and provided with a metallic strip at'said edge, substantially as described.

2. A straight-edge having a body whose sides are beveled nearly to an edge and provided with a metallic strip at said edge, the outer sides of said metallic strip following the planes of the outer sides of the body, substantially as described.

3. A masons straight-edge comprising a wooden body D and a metallic strip A, having a reduced shank B, seated in a longitudinal groove 01 in the edge of thewooden body, and rivets for securing it therein, substantially as described.

4. A masons straight-edge consisting of a wooden body D,whose side faces are beveled gradually to the edge, and a longitudinal groove of rectangular cross-section within said edge, in combination with a metallic strip A of approximate T shape in cross-section, the outer faces of the head whereof lie in the same planes with the outer-faces of the body, the shank B of said strip closely fitting said grooves, and rivets O, passing through said body and through said shank and holding the parts in relative position, substantially as described.

5. A masons straight-edge consisting of a Wooden body and metallic strips along the edge of the same,the thickness of said wooden body being greater than that of the strips, and a spirit-level inserted in the wooden body at its thickest portion, substantially as de- 7 scribed.

6. A masons straight-edge consisting of a a JAMES AUGUSTIN BYRNE.

W'itnesses:

WILLIAM HENRY ENGLISH, DAVID SANDERsoN. 

